A Killer's Honor
by Illeana Starbright
Summary: Cato always knew he would volunteer for the Hunger Games. He always knew he would win. What he didn't know was that his year would have the starcrossed lovers, a foxy girl, and the oddest Career pack in the history of the Hunger Games. Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_When I first volunteered for the 74th Annual Hunger Games everything seemed so simple. I had been training all my life for this after all. You went into the games, killed almost everyone else, and emerged the victor. Now as I stand on the metal of the Cornucopia and listen to Peeta Mellark's agonized screams and the yips of the mutts below I'm not so sure. I volunteered for these games thinking that no one could beat me. Then Katniss Everdeen scored an eleven and proved I wasn't invincible, Peeta betrayed the Careers for her, and Katniss, the girl from 5, and Tahlia blew up our supplies._

_Now I'm at the end with two other girls on the Cornucopia. One has a bow but she's just used her last arrow to kill the boy she loves and save him from an agonizing death. The other has a knife and is backed out of the way. Only two of us can win but I know the sad truth. Two of us may emerge as victors but there is no real victory._

_There is no honor among killers just as there is no true honor among thieves._

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Author's Note: So this is a companion story to _The Price of Betrayal_ but you shouldn't have to read that to read this. I own nothing from the Hunger Games that you recognize.


	2. Chapter I Volunteer

**Chapter I-Volunteer**

I am here because I want to be. That is the difference between us at Districts 1 and 2 and sometimes 4 and those in the other districts. As soon as Clove and I exited the train we are greeted by explosive cheering. We reply with smirks and the occasional wave. Clove blows a few kisses. The crowds love as already as we are whisked away to be made Capitol beautiful and not normal beautiful. My prep team gushes over me like I'm some sort of superhero from the comic books we occasionally see in museums about life before Panem was Panem. My stylist comes in later and all her speech is either gushing over my muscular figure or practically grovelling. While she considers costumes for the parades I watch the replay of the Reapings.

The District 1 tributes are a boy named Marvel who is taller than me but doesn't have the bulk and Glimmer who looks like some sort of vapid blond who is good for nothing but looking pretty. I mostly ignore my Reaping and then pay attention again when District 3 shows up. The girl is trembling as she wobbles up to the platform and the boy doesn't look any older than twelve. The District 4 tributes don't volunteer but they don't look worried or wail when their names are called. District 5 has a foxy faced red haired girl who keeps casting sly glances around the crowd when she's called. District 10 brings up a crippled boy and District 11 has a tiny twelve year old girl and a hulking boy who has Marvel's height advantage and my bulk. Then comes District 12. A tiny twelve year old is Reaped and I'm not the only one surprised when her older sister takes her place. The boy Reaped with her looks strong enough as well. He's Marvel's height but a little more muscular.

My prep team and stylist both assure me that I'm the best one there. I don't contradict them. It's true. They usher Clove and I out to the chariots. The tributes from District 1 grin at us and we grin back. The boy from 3 shows up and his district partner arrives a moment later, wobbling on heels. She manages to stumble into the chariot and we smirk at her, hiding snickers. She looks at us with wide eyes as if she isn't sure which she should fear more; us or her shoes. Personally at the moment I think the shoes are a greater threat.

The chariot pulls out and the crowd goes wild. They love us from District 2; fierce and proud and utterly ignoring them. By not waving and acting as if all this is below us we gather the attention of the crowd more than if we tried to gain there attention. No one is as much loved as us. That is until District 12 shows up _on fire_. The crowd goes absolutely wild. Clove and I fume because the attention is gone from us and now we have to actually work to gain our sponsors back. As soon as we are out of the crowd's view I growl and stalk from the chariot. None of the groveling of my prep team and stylists nor the reassurance of Brutus and Enobaria that I was wonderful are enough to placate me. I want the Girl on Fire _dead_.


	3. Chapter II Showcase

**Chapter II- Showcase**

"Training is a ruse," Enobaria told Clove and I this morning. "The gamemakers will watch you all and be judging you already."

"They claim training is to help everyone," Brutus continued. "Really what it does is help you and Districts 1 and 4 find out how weak everyone else is and pick up some practical survival skills."

"Survival skills," Clove had replied with a snicker. "Everyone else is so weak we won't be in there for more than a day or so. We don't need survival skills." It was the eighth time that morning that Clove had laughed at everything that was happening. Now I'm anxiously waiting for training to start so I can get away from Clove. I hate her already which is good because then I won't feel bad about killing her in the games. As soon as the trainer lets us loose I distance myself from Clove and head directly for the swords. Brutus informed us that training was just a way to showcase our skills and I intend to do just that. While other tributes have their first tentative lessons with potentially deadly weapons I hack away at the human shaped dummies around me.

Half and hour later I hear Clove and Marvel snickering. Both of them seem to find amusement in failure and neither one is great at close range combat so they make a perfect pair. Glimmer seems to excel at hand to hand combat and to my surprise after speaking to her the night before I find her more likeable than Clove. She's watching what they are with a little interest.

The girl from District 3 is having knife lessons and despite what Clove's snickering suggests she isn't doing bad. "Look," Clove mocks as the trainer corrects her grip. "She can't even manage to hold the knife properly."

"Be nice Clove," Marvel chides mockingly. "It's not her fault her parents didn't care enough to train her." The girl glares at the knife while Marvel and Clove laugh as if he has just made the best joke in the world. Then she throws the knife and it actually sticks in the target in the second ring out from the center. That silences the pair of hyenas. What she says next though, shocks them.

"Yes," she all but drawls. "Be nice Clove. It isn't like everyone's parents have enough money to help them cheat." There is a moment of frozen silence before Glimmer's delight breaks through and she laughs. Marvel starts snickering then and I have to laugh at the half furious, half shocked look on Clove's face. The girl from 3 who had stiffened the instant the words left her mouth relaxes. That makes Clove even angrier because the girl isn't afraid of her. I resolve to keep an eye on the girl from 3.

The girl from 3, Tahlia, spends two days learning how to use knives. She's passable and with a weeks work instead of two days she could prove a threat to Clove in close combat. She spends the last day on survival skills. I'm not the only one keeping an eye on her out of the Careers either. Glimmer is watching her as well though I doubt she scouting Tahlia out as a threat. It's more like she's looking for a possible ally.

Mr private session with the gamemakers goes well. I am completely confidant when I stride out of the room. When Clove joins my mentors and I minutes later she too is looking confidant. All of us Careers score high. Clove and I tie with tens. The tiny boy from 3 gets a four and the girl from 3 gets a six, marking her as a little above average and not entirely incompetent. She intrigues me and questions about how she managed to gain a six keep me occupied until the girl from 12 gains an eleven and makes her way to the top of my kill list.

That night I fume and pace. The girl from 12 has made me look like an incompetent idiot. I fantasize about putting my hands around her neck and _squeezing_ until the light fades from her grey eyes. That night I have my first dream of the Hunger Games.

_The instant the gong sounds I am flying off the pedestal and tackling the Girl on Fire, intent on strangling her with my bare hands. My fingers tighten around her throat and she thrashes, panic flying into those cold grey eyes. A breathless, strangled scream escapes her. I hear a cry and look up to see the girl from District 3 staring at me, blue eyes wide with horror. I snap Katniss Everdeen's pretty little neck and lunge to my feet just as the girl bolts. I run and run but I can never quite catch her._


	4. Chapter III Naive

**Chapter III- Naive **

I managed to avoid Clove until the interviews that night. Then we have to line up by Districts which means I'm stuck with Clove. The pair from 3 arrive soon after dressed in shimmering silver. Clove turns immediately to glare at them darkly. I can see the small boy shrink back from the corner of my eye but the girl is glaring at Clove. She's almost radiant in the silver dress and Clove doesn't seem to scare her in the least, something that makes my district partner irate. I slide a smirk on my face, mostly because of Clove's irritation, and the girl from 3 takes a step back. So she isn't afraid of Clove but I scare her. _Interesting_.

Caesar calls us out and we sit down in chairs. I am amused by the small District 3 boy putting to girl between me and him. She sits nervously on the edge of her seat, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes as Glimmer is called up. Glimmer laughs and flirts in her sheer gold dress and generally charms the crowd until her time is up. Marvel is next and though he is charming he doesn't compare to his flirtatious partner. Probably, as Clove sneers in my ear, because he isn't pretty enough. Then it is Clove's turn.

My partner is a perfect balance at deadliness and little girl innocence. She has the audience leaning in to listen to her every word and watching every wave of her perfectly manicured fingers. The Caesar called me. "Everyone welcome Cato Tiberius from District 2." The cheers were thunderous as I sauntered on to the stage, waving to the crowd. "So Cato I hear you were rather excited about volunteering for the games."

"It's a real honor to represent my district Caesar," I said, smiling almost cruelly. "It will be even more of an honor when I emerge as the victor."

"Quite confidant for being outscored aren't you?" Caesar asked and I felt fury well in my chest for a moment. Why did he have to bring out the fact that I was outscored by a District 12 brat? On the outside though I waved it away.

"The score is just a fluke," I said dismissively. "I'm the true victor here. No one here is as brutal and dangerous as I am." That was the straight up truth. Even Thresh who was dangerous in his own didn't have the stomach for killing that I did.

Caesar just laughed and said, "I see what you think of your competition."

I let out a ha of laughter and tilted my head up arrogantly. "What competition?" The audience laughed and applauded just as the buzzer went off signalling my time was over.

"Give it up for Cato Tiberius," Caesar says with a wide grin. "Future victor of the Hunger Games." There is cheering and applause as I head back to my seat. "Ladies and Gentlemen give it up for District 3's Tahlia Silicon." The girl in the silver dress stands and makes her way shakily to the stage. She speaks calmly however and doesn't appear to be completely hopeless. The applause when she steps down off the stage was modest but genuine. She sank gratefully into her seat as her young district partner made his way on stage.

"Think you can make it District 3?" I asked mockingly as her partner stammered his way through his interview. I'm facing ahead and anyone watching will simply think I am mocking the District 3 boy's interview. "Well you'd better be useful or you won't even make it through the blood bath." That is a promise, both to me and to the girl I am finding far more intriguing than I probably should be. She sits stiffly in her seat, not even glancing at me until we are at the beginning of District 7's interviews. Then she casts me sideways glances even through Katniss Everdeen's sickly sweet twirling and giggling and Peeta Mellark's stupid declaration of love. That night I dreamed again.

_Clove had tackled the girl from 3 down on the sand who was, inexplicably, still wearing the silver dress from her interviews. Clove looked up at me and sneered. "Look," she hissed. "I'm going to destroy the girl you're so obsessed with while you watch." The first slice made Tahlia scream and me clench my fists. I lunged at Clove and threw her off the other girl. _

_"Leave Tahlia alone," I hiss at Clove and she laughs._

_"What happened to winning?" she shrieks as I lift my sword to behead her. "What happened to bringing honor to your district?" I pause then and Clove smiles at me. "Let me kill her," she coos. "You don't even have to watch and I promise I'll make it quick." I want to say no but my drive to win overpowers everything else. I turn my back on Clove and stab my sword straight in Tahlia's stomach. She shrieks in pain but her eyes never leave mine._

_"Monster," she says with her last breath and even after she is dead her eyes sear me. _

I wake up gasping for breath and feeling vaguely guilty even though I haven't done anything. Yet. It's that yet that haunts me the rest of the night.

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Author's Note: Sorry for not updating in a while. I'll try to catch this up before school starts up on Friday. Thanks to _Glato lover _and _xBildenxSiexLachelnx (_It will definitely be an interesting ride) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games that you recognize.


	5. Chapter IV Ascension

**Chapter IV- Ascension**

The next morning we Careers (Districts 1, 2, and 4 rather than the full Career pack) are the first ones in the hovercraft. District 3 is next followed by 5 and then 12. The others come in as a group. I find Tahlia sitting as far away from me as she can manage and it almost hurts for a moment before I remind myself that I shouldn't care about her. We are all injected with trackers and taken to the area underneath the arena. I paced my room alone until the glass door on the cylinder around the pedestal opened and let me inside. The platform began to rise. _60. 59. 58. 57. 56. 55. 54. 53. 52. 51. 50._

The arena is green, far greener than any other place I have seen. On one end is some golden grain and on the other is a vast forest. A little behind the silver Cornucopia is the gleam of water. _49. 48. 47. 46. 45. 44. 43. 42. 41. 40. _We tributes are gathered in a circling around the clearing the Cornucopia is placed in. _39. 38. 37._ Selfishly I search for Tahlia first. I find her standing between the cripple from 10 and the girl from 6. She hasn't seen me yet. _36. 35. 34. 33. 32. 31. 30._ Only thirty seconds left. I search for my allies in the circle. Peeta is only a couple tributes away from me and he meets my eyes squarely. Glimmer is almost completely across the circle and Clove is to my left. Marvel is on the other side of the girl from 6. _29. 28. 27. 26. 25. 24. 23. 22. 21. 20._

My first thought seeing Tahlia not far from Marvel is absolute panic. Then I calm myself. First I tell myself I shouldn't care about her but for some reason when that doesn't work I tell myself Marvel will have to get a weapon first. He can't kill by hand. He needs his spears. _19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11._ Tahlia's eyes meet mine and suddenly it feels as if time has stopped. For a moment nothing matters but her blue eyes staring back at me. I shake myself out of it quickly though and give her a smirk so she looks away. Now I can't get lost in her eyes.

_10. 9. 8. _My body tenses, ready to run into the blood bath about to happen. _7. 6. 5_.My heartbeat pounds in my chest and my breathing grows ragged with the anticipation of using my weapons on human flesh and blood and not just dumb animals. _4. 3. 2. 1. _The gong rings out and I run toward the Cornucopia with the rest. The boy from 4 is actually the first one to cross me. His name is Riptide and I was reluctant to let him join our alliance in the first place. He seemed to slippery and likely to double cross us at the first opportunity. It seems that I was right.

He lunges at me with the sword I know was meant for me and I dodge, knocking him to the ground and snatching the sword from his numb fingers before slicing his head off. The panicked look in his eyes isn't very different from the look in animals knowing they are going to die. The boy from 5 is next. I slice open his stomach and leave him screaming on the ground. Then both the boy and girl from 9. That's when I notice Tahlia backing away from the group. I slip behind her, out of her sight range, and watch for a moment as she locates the others in the crowd but not me. The I jerk her up and press the blade of my sword against her throat.

"Well which is it District 3?" I croon in her ear as she shakes. "Are you useful or are you dead like your useless district partner?" The boy is lying dead on the ground, stabbed through the throat. My guess is that he's Marvel's kill because Clove would have left a much larger wound. The others have gathered around now, waiting for Tahlia's answer. Some part of my mind says I'm looking for an excuse not to kill her but I ignore it.

"The mines," she blurts out and we all stare.

"What?" Glimmer asked, sounding just as confused as we all feel.

"I can reactivate them," Tahlia stammers and Glimmer's eyes light up.

"We could mine the area around our camp," the blond girl all but squeals. "And only leave one person to guard our supplies." For a moment I fight the bizarre urge to kiss Glimmer for giving me a reason not to kill Tahlia. For some reason I cannot understand I am far too attached to the dark haired girl.

Instead I snap," Prove it" and shove her away from me.

"I need one of the mines," she says.

"Then get one," Marvel sneers. She sends a terrified look around the group before rushing over to one of the pedestals and beginning to dig. Soon Peeta, Glimmer, and Lyric go to help her dig. I force myself to stay back and count cannon blasts with Clove and Marvel. I cannot become attached to Tahlia or it will prove fatal for one of us, just like my dream. It takes an hour of fumbling with wires for Tahlia to activate the mine they unearth. When she does Marvel decides to test us. We all take one look at her panicked expression and her distance between the mine and herself before backing off. Even Marvel takes a couple steps back before throwing the rock.

The explosions is massive and when our ears finally stop ringing all I can hear are Glimmer's delighted, girlish giggles. It's odd to see someone as pretty and vapid as she seems to everyone else giggling over some like destruction and explosions but it reminds me that there is more to Glimmer than what meets the eye. Then Lyric and Peeta make a valid argument for why we should move the camp and we head closer to the lake. The set up is finished just before nightfall and we go hunting, leaving Tahlia alone guarding the supplies inside the minefield she has set up. I can't help but feel that the next few hours with Clove and Marvel will make me wish I had stayed behind with her.


	6. Chapter V Friendship

Author's Note: So now I'm trying to catch this up to The Price of Betrayal because this story is lagging behind... Thanks to _xBildenxSiexLachelnx_ (I think it helps make some of the events of The Price of Betrayal to make more sense when you have Cato's view on them as well as Tahlia's) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games you recognize.

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**Chapter V- Friendship**

We kill the girl from District 8 just a couple hours before sunrise. Glimmer can't kill the girl so Clove steps in and, naturally, botches it. Peeta goes back to finish the girl and takes Clove's superiority down a notch, actually making me think I might be able to get along with him. Marvel stays silent while Clove alternates between ranting and mocking Glimmer. The blond girl does a pretty good job of ignoring my obnoxious district partner. We search for a while more and don't find anything so we return to camp for some rest. By then Clove, Marvel, and Lyric are laughing over the terrified look on the girl from 8's face and I finally give in to Marvel's constant attempts to pull me in. Glimmer and Peeta stay out of it chatting quietly in the background.

Tahlia is still awake when we get back, still laughing and, in Clove's case, gloating. She looks exhausted and not entirely coherent but not at all surprised to see us either. Glimmer detaches herself from the group once she finishes her conversation with Peeta and makes her way over to Tahlia. "You need rest," she says briskly and even though I'm 'talking' to Marvel I'm still paying attention to what's going on around me. Habit I guess. "We're going to sleep anyway and Clove is so hyped up on blood shed that she can stay up and keep guard." This is why I like Glimmer. Despite her looks she doesn't put on false pretenses and she tries not to sugar coat things. There is also the added bonus that Clove hates her almost as much as she hates Katniss and Tahlia.

"At least I'm not a golden haired slut who can't bring herself to kill anyone," Clove shoots back, her cheeks turning bright red with irritation and humiliation. Glimmer was turning pink from humiliation now and Tahlia was glaring.

"Says the girl making eyes at the District 4 boy during training," Tahlia snaps at the exact moment Marvel falls silent because he realizes I'm not even bothering to listen to him anymore. Clove's face is darkening to an ugly puce color from humiliation and Glimmers mouth is in a perfect circle of utter astonishment. My guess is she hasn't had any friends or at least not real ones willing to stand up for her. And I know Clove isn't used to being snapped at. She's used to being feared.

I can't help but laugh at Clove's humiliation and a moment later Marvel begins snickering at what shade of puce Clove is turning. That's all it takes for her to whirl at us, snarl something that I'm laughing too hard to really hear, and stalk off. Lyric was snickering too, Peeta was smiling slightly, and even Glimmer had a grin on her face as she watched her tormentor stomp off. Tahlia and Glimmer sleep curled up together after that, somehow trusting each other completely, and when Glimmer wakes Tahlia later after I rouse her to inform her we're hunting again they act like they've known each other all their lives.

We hunt more tributes and return at sunset. This time I say I'll take first watch before Clove, Glimmer, and Tahlia can get into another argument. Glimmer and Tahlia sleep curled around each other and they're the only ones completely relaxed out of our entire pack when they sleep. They've known each other a grand total of two days and there's already absolute trust. I watch my companions sleep after they drift off.

Clove looks younger asleep than she does awake, anger and sadism seeming to wash off her face. Marvel looks like he does most of the day, relaxed but more peaceful instead of his normal confidence. Peeta looks younger when he sleeps as well and almost as innocent and Lyric just looks lost in her sleep. Glimmer sort of falls apart when she sleeps as if she has to be awake and concentrating to stays as beautiful as she always is. Tahlia is the opposite. While she always looks plain and worried during the day she looks peaceful while she sleeps and the firelight dancing off her black hair and shimmering across her pale skin makes her look both beautiful and not of this world.

Marvel wakes Glimmer this time and I send him because right now he can wake Tahlia without worrying about her flinching. Somehow the fact that I terrify her, something that so amused me earlier, bothers me now. Glimmer hugs Tahlia and we leave to hunt. We aren't in the forest long before the fire starts. We run because we can't fight it and because we know the Gamemakers are herding us somewhere to bring more action. We find out where soon enough when the fire seems to vanish and we see Katniss Everdeen, ironically enough the Girl on Fire. Before we even have a chance though she scrambles up a tree and Glimmer's skill with a bow, poor though it is she's better than the rest of us, can't even hurt Fire Girl.

Peeta breaks up the brewing argument by suggesting we set camp under the tree she's in. We agree without hesitation and I have to wonder when the boy from 12 wormed his way into our trust. Glimmer and Clove avoid each other and when it comes time to rest I let the blond use my arm as a pillow. She shrugs it off, treating me like I'm a sibling, for which I'm eternally glad. I'm sick of girls fawning over me and the last thing I needed was a lovesick girl in the Hunger Games. I sleep peacefully but Tahlia haunts my dreams, drifting through them in a midnight blue dress that drags along the forest floor. I call to her but she never hears me.

I wake the instant the tracker jacker nest hits the ground. We all scramble to our feet and run but Glimmer and Lyric, who were nearest to the nest, are taken down before they can escape. The cannon blasts twice behind us but Marvel, Clove, Peeta, and I keep running because if we stop we'll be just like them and my chance at winning the Hunger Games will be gone because of Fire Girl and a few bugs.


	7. Chapter VI Betrayal

**Chapter VI-Betrayal**

The instant the tracker jackers gave up on us in the lake I stormed out, noticing Peeta had abandoned us halfway through the run. Stupid Loverboy had probably gone back to the Girl on Fire. I was going to kill him. Sure enough Peeta was letting Katniss get away with her weapon of choice when I arrived. I could have attributed the slip to tracker jacker venom but the look in Peeta's eyes was too coherent for me to wave it away. "You," I snarled and he spun to face me, actually looking nervous. "Traitor." I sliced at him with my sword and I saw the surprise in his wide eyes. Normally I would have killed him but my perception was already being thrown off by the poison from the tracker jacker stings. Instead my blade sliced deep across his thigh. He winced crying out a little, and then backed away, gushing blood everywhere. I turn and half stalk half stumble back to our camp.

When I arrive I force myself to walk steadily even though the tracker jacker poison is making me sick. Clove and Marvel have just exited that water and are dripping yet. Tahlia is staying a good distance away from them watching every move they make with wary blue eyes. Peeta, Lyric, and Glimmer who all seemed to like her are gone and it's obvious she's uncomfortable without them. "Loverboy is dead," I sneer while inwardly wondering just how much I can protect Tahlia. With Glimmer, Lyric, and Peeta gone our alliance will be close to falling about and she'll be caught in the crossfire. I don't know how to protect her. I don't even know why I care but I do.

"Where was the cannon blast?" Clove snarls at me, still dripping water everywhere.

"You were probably too busy cowering in the water waiting for the big bad bugs to come get you to hear it," I snarl back, wishing that Clove had been killed and not Glimmer. It's awful and I shouldn't hate her because she's my district partner but I do. Clove actually looks hurt and I do feel bad because of that but I ignore the feelings and hide them safely away. I don't need Clove thinking she can manipulate me.

"There wasn't a cannon blast," Marvel says after a moment of silence and then shrinks back when I glare at him. He's pathetic compared to vicious little Clove or even Glimmer who couldn't bring herself to kill.

"There will be soon," I snap. "There's now way Loverboy is surviving his wounds. He'll either bleed out or die of blood poisoning." Both of them nod after a moment.

"So can we kill District 3 now?" Marvel asks, focusing on Tahlia since the discussion about Peeta is over. Something in his tone makes me want to punch him and then start kicking him while he's down until he begs for mercy. I don't understand it and I don't act on it but the need is there.

Clove almost looks eager at Marvel's statement. "Please," she says, staring at me with big brown eyes. Before the games started that might have worked on him but now all he could see was Tahlia's wide blue eyes staring hopelessly into the woods while they jumped into the lake, still waiting for Glimmer to show up.

"No," he hissed and his voice was a harsh as a sudden cold snap causing Tahlia, Marvel, and Clove to freeze. I can't force myself to mock or taunt her death. Instead I sound as if I am trying to freeze my allies with just my words and it works. "Not yet." They back off but none of three relaxes. They move around me like one wrong move and I'm going to snap. Marvel and Clove keep sending dark glances at Tahlia when they think my back is turned and it's a fight not to kill them both.

Clove falls prey to the venom first, moaning and twitching. Tahlia ignores her completely but watches Marvel warily as they sun sets. It's obvious that the instant I fall into poison induced slumber Marvel is going after Tahlia so I do the only thing I can think of to protect her. "You're with me tonight," I snap, grabbing her arm when she tries to fade into the shadows. She glances once at Marvel and doesn't argue as I toss her Glimmer's sleeping bag. She drifts off to sleep at the same time Marvel finally succumbs to the tracker jacker poison. I fall asleep not long after.

I wake a few hours before sunrise as the poison wears off. I wasn't stung as often as Clove and Marvel, both who were slower, and it hasn't affected me as much. Clove is still moaning softly and Marvel looks pale in the dim light of the coals. Tahlia has the sleeping bag wrapping tight around her and is shivering and muttering in her sleep. I hear Glimmer's name mumbled several times and realize she's having a nightmare. I hesitate for a moment and then reach over, brushing her cheek with my hand. If she would have been awake she would have flinched away but instead she lets out a sleepy sigh, her mumbles silencing. I sigh to myself and pull her over gently so she's tucked up against me with her arm around me. Then I realize the tracker jacker venom is still blurring the world around me and I drift off once more.

I wake again at sunrise and realize that I've actually pulled Tahlia closer to me while I slept. My eyes flicker open and I see her head resting on my chest as she sleeps. My arm is tight around her waist, holding her close, and her small frame next to mine is actually comforting so I leave her there, letting my eyes fall shut and enjoying not having to wake up. Tahlia stirs a few minutes later and her heart pounds frantically when she finds out she's trapped in my arms. She tries to squirm free but I only tighten my grip and mutter, "Think for once" under my breath so softly that she probably thinks I'm asleep. Slowly her heartbeat calms as she realizes neither Clove nor Marvel will be coming after her to kill her while she's trapped and she rests her head back against my chest, drifting off to sleep.

I pretend to wake a couple hours later, freeing Tahlia first by letting my arm sleep off her waist so she can slide free first. She does and avoids my gaze whenever I look at her yet at the same time she becomes my constant shadow. I don't say anything about her lurking, afraid of scaring her off. Clove rouses next and Marvel wakes around sunset. We decide to stay at camp that night to gather our strength instead of hunting. We the sun rises the next morning we eat and are gathering our weapons we Clove sees the smoke. We leave to investigate without another word, reaching the first fire to find no one. That was when Marvel spotted the next one. "Split up," I ordered.

After twenty minutes of searching I am heading back toward the first fire when I hear the explosion. I turn and head for our camp and at the same time I hear someone scream "KATNISS!" I hesitated, turning back toward where Fire Girl will be heading, and then shake my head, creeping toward the camp. The red haired girl from 5 is laughing, actually laughing, with Tahlia. I should feel betrayed but instead I'm thinking about how clever she is, bringing the playing field down to everyone else's level. I try to hold in a laugh and settle my face into a dead mask before deliberately cracking a stick.

Both girl's spun to face me, looking startled and terrified for a moment. Then the red haired girl from 5 shrieked, "Run" and pulled Tahlia after her. I couldn't hide my smile then, shaking my head as I watched them vanish. I couldn't hide the relief either. Tahlia was safe. Now I could focus on getting out of the games alive, which was turning out harder than I'd originally thought. Then again I hadn't planned on caring for some nobody from District3.


	8. Chapter VII Feast

**Chapter VII-Feast**

Katniss Everdeen kills Marvel but not before the boy from 1 kills the little girl from 11. Clove and I finish off the crippled boy from 10 and suddenly there are only seven of us in the arena. Of course Clove doesn't care. She's still snarling about how a little underfed rat from District 12 managed to kill Marvel who has been trained for this. I informed her that Marvel must had skipped the course on arrow dodging and she fumed the rest of the night. Then comes the rule change. Not one tribute but _two_ can come out of this year's Hunger Games. Sure the rule change is for the pair from 12 but that doesn't mean I can't take advantage of it.

When the rule change is announced, as stupid as it is, the first person I think of is Tahlia but when I turn I see Clove grinning at me. She's transformed into someone almost pretty when she smiles and I can't help but grin back, reminding myself that the girl from 3 is teamed up with the one from 5. We hunted with renewed vigor but we didn't find anyone for two full days. That meant I wasn't terribly surprised when the feast is announced. The people in the Capitol must be bored by now. Clove and I spend the night planning. She will take Katniss Everdeen down and I will circle around to kill Thresh.

The plan is almost dead in the first two minutes when the girl from 5 and Tahlia dart out from the Cornucopia to grab their bags and bolt. Clove snarls, tensing to run, and I grab her arm. "Don't," I snarl. "Unless you want Katniss Everdeen to kill you instead of the other way around." Clove nods, still looking furious, and I leave her to circle around and find Thresh. I am still searching when I hear Clove scream.

"Cato! CATO!"

I can't help myself. I turn and run, yelling myself. "CLOVE!" She lets out one more scream and falls silent. I know then that I'm too late but I keep running. When I get there I see no one by Clove lying there with her skull crushed by a bloody rock. Our bag is gone and my guess is that Thresh took it after he killed her. I kneel next to Clove and find that I'm crying. "Clove," I say and my voice breaks for a moment. I suddenly feel amazingly guilty. Guilty for not running fast enough, guilty for not letting her go after the girl from 5 and Tahlia, guilty for hating her. "I'm sorry I hated you," I whisper and lift her hand to my mouth, kissing it before composing myself. Then I go after Thresh. Every instant of his torture I drag out I tell myself that it's for revenge for what he did to Clove but my heart knows the truth. It's for the girl who stole my heart with frightened blue eyes.

I behead Thresh finally and stumble to the lake to clean myself off after retrieving my bag. It's a high tech set of armor for me and several knives for Clove who is now dead. I toss the knives aside, not letting myself feel guilty for Clove's death one moment longer, and slip on the armor. It's time to hunt the Girl on Fire. I move camp deep into the woods before I rest for the night. The cannon wakes me the next morning and I wonder who died. Katniss? Tahlia? The girl from 5? Most likely Peeta Mellark. That's when I hear the howling. The mutts fly into the clearing and the one in the lead looks eerily like Clove. I don't have time to ponder that though as a blond mutt lunges and I'm forced to run for my life.


End file.
